


Getting In

by TanyaReed



Category: Relic Hunter
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-14
Updated: 2012-09-14
Packaged: 2017-11-14 05:21:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/511761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TanyaReed/pseuds/TanyaReed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written in 2006 or 2007.  Sydney loses her keys.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting In

Sydney yawned as she made her way up the front steps to her door. Her eyes felt gritty and her limbs were as heavy as if they had weights attached. It had been a long night. She hated formal university functions. For one thing, she had to squeeze herself into a fancy dress and carry a dainty purse instead of her sensible and sturdy satchel. Then, she had to socialize with painfully boring people and smile until her cheeks hurt.

Her yawn was followed quickly by a relieved smile. At least it was over. The smile widened as she remembered that the next such party wasn't for another three months. Somehow, she'd have to make sure she was on a relic hunt then.

On the step, she stopped to dig in the scrap of fabric some would call a purse. It was so tiny that it only held a few essentials. One of these was her house key—at least it was supposed to be. Sydney's eyes widened as she realized that she couldn't feel it. Frowning, she started taking things out and holding them between her fingers. Item by item, the purse was emptied, and Sydney's despair grew. When there was nothing else to take out, she turned it inside out just to make sure. Her keys were nowhere to be found. She must have lost them at the party.

She looked at her watch and saw it was after one a.m. She didn't have her phone, so she couldn't call anyone, and she couldn't even take her Jeep and go back to look for the keys because Nigel had borrowed it earlier after dropping her off at Chancellor Evans's house. She had taken a cab home.

Sydney stared at her purse for another moment before raising her eyes to glare accusingly at her front door. She tried to will it open with the strength of her anger, but it didn't work.

“What am I going to do?” she grumbled.

It was no use going into her garage and trying her other door. She always kept that one locked. Limply, she let herself drop to the step. The fall night air was chill, and she could feel the cold dampness of the cement reaching for her through her clothes. Goose bumps bloomed and gathered along the flesh of both her arms and her legs. Sydney shivered.

It came to her suddenly that there was only one thing she could do. Earlier that day, she had opened her bedroom window a crack to let in some of the cool, crisp air. She couldn't remember closing it, so it might still be open. It would take some work, but she should be able to snap off the screen and raise the window enough to get in—she just hoped none of her neighbors would see her and call 911. Just the thought of it sent flames racing across her face.

Now that she had a purpose, Sydney quickly got to her feet. Leaving her little purse sitting forlornly on the step, she started making her way around the house to her small backyard. 

Her progress was going well until she stepped off the pave of her driveway into the grass. It was only then that she remembered the rain they had had over the past couple of days. Her high heels sinking foot deep into the soft mud and almost pitching her forward onto her face reminded her. She teetered there for a second, arms windmilling and water seeping into her toe-less shoes.

After weaving forward then backward several times, she finally steadied semi-upright. Not even daring to move, she waited to see if she would fall. When nothing happened, she dared to slip one foot out of a shoe and then the other.

The squelching mud squishing up between her toes felt horrible. She sank into the cold, disgusting stuff with a grimace. She knew her feet would feel like ice cubes before she was through.

She moved close to the side of the house where the ground seemed a little firmer, wincing as a stone stabbed painfully into her bare foot. A growl formed in her throat, and she wanted to curse someone. Unfortunately, the only one to blame was herself.

This cheerful thought brought her around to the pitch black of the back of her house. Sydney blinked several times, hoping her night vision would kick in and she'd see more than whispers of movement in the darkness, but, with the new moon, things remained unrecognizable. As she brushed her fingers along the side of her house as a guide, she thought that at least she was lucky all the snakes and spiders were in hibernation.

She moved slowly, careful not to stub her toes or trip over anything, so it seemed to take forever to reach her bedroom window. Even the longest journey's have an end, and a warm rush of relief washed over her as her fingertips brushed across the screen. She just hoped it wouldn't be too difficult to remove. It helped that she had put the screen in herself.

“My kingdom for a knife,” she mumbled, running her fingers along the edge, searching for weaknesses.

In just minutes, Sydney found a place where it was loose and managed to wedge her thumbnail in between it and the window frame. With just a few wiggles, the loose corner popped out just enough for her to be able to give it a firm tug. Nothing happened. With a snarl, Sydney tugged again. The snarl turned to a squeak as she felt the screen tumble towards her. She jumped back but not in time. The screen bounced once off the top of her head before sliding down first her face, then her front, on its way to the ground. It happened so fast that all Sydney had time to do was blink in surprise.

She shook her head and a small, wry smile came to her face as she reached for the window. Her hands wrapped around the bottom and she pushed. It started moving very, very slowly.

Once it was barely wide enough for her body to slither through, she leaned forward. Since the window was about chest high, she got her head and shoulders inside.

“Meow?” a curious voice asked.

“It's just me,” she said, peering into the gloom. Her bedroom was too dark to see Mafdet, even though her night vision was finally starting to work a little. 

She put her hands against the wall and pushed with her feet, bringing more of her into the window. Her feet dangled, so she used her toes to try to get some purchase against the smooth siding. 

She jolted suddenly as something brushed her hands, and she slid back enough to hit her head on the window with a solid clunk.

“...” She bit her tongue on the curse words and gave herself another push. If she didn't love her cat so much, she thought she might be almost tempted to strangle her.

Using the inside wall, Sydney was able to pull herself up until she was far enough to slide inside. She landed with a soft thump. Mafdet immediately started rubbing against her face and purring loudly.

“Stop!” A familiar voice made her jump. “Don't come any closer! I'm armed.”

Sydney groaned and pushed herself into a sitting position.

“I'm warning you...” the voice continued. It shook a little.

“Relax, Nigel. It's me.”

“Syd...What?”

Pain stabbed her eyes as Nigel flicked the light switch. Sydney threw up her arm and blinked away tears caused by the light's assault. “What are you doing here?”

As she pulled herself to her feet, she noticed that his shirt was rumpled and his hair stuck up at different angles.

“I...Well, when I got home, I saw that you had dropped your keys in the Jeep. I was worried that you wouldn't be able to get in, and I didn't know how late you would be. Since I wasn't invited to the Chancellor's party, I decided to come here and wait for you. I parked the Jeep in the garage and let myself in.”

She raised her eyebrows. “And fell asleep?”

He nodded, stifling a yawn. “And fell asleep, but that shouldn't have mattered.”

“Why's that?” Sydney didn't know whether to hug him for being so sweet or shake him for napping while she was crossing the yard in the dark.

“The door was unlocked.”


End file.
